The present invention provides an interconnection system, notably for Ethernet applications in a severe outdoor environment.
Such an interconnection system may be adapted to different connection interfaces such as Duplex LC, RJ45, USB and other connectors.
The interconnection system includes a plug and a socket, the socket being mounted on the chassis of a customer equipment including an electronic component received in a casing, for example.
The position of the casing relative to the socket may not be strictly the same from one assembly to another, for example because of different positions of the casing and different types of customer equipment, a tolerance of the order of one millimeter with regard to the coordinates of the position of the casing in a plane containing the chassis being acceptable, while the tolerance for the coordinate of the position of the casing in a direction perpendicular to said plane may be as much as several millimeters, this coordinate being referred to hereinafter as the “depth”. Thus the casing may be placed differently relative to the socket from one customer assembly to another.
The contacts of the plug according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,214 being fixed relative to the rest of the plug, they may be unsuitable for a connection to the electronic components of some customer assemblies because of the particular position of the casings receiving them relative to the socket.
To solve this problem, the application WO 2009/100796 proposes a plug in which the contacts are mounted in a floating manner in a hollow body to allow manual connection of the contacts to the electronic component taking into account the depth of said electronic component in the chassis. However, the use of such a plug necessitates a non-negligible manipulation time for an operator to make the connection to the electronic component and this connection cannot be made blind. Furthermore, such a plug does not allow compensation of the variations in the position of the casing receiving the electronic component relative to the socket in the direction of dimensions other than the depth.
Application US 2007/0128901 discloses a connector comprising a support to accept contacts connected to an electric cable, the connector comprising a body within which the support is housed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,456 discloses a connector with a fixed part with respect to which an internal conductor and an external conductor are translationally mobile. This U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,456 does not describe any translationally mobile support carrying the conductors.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,214 and application US 2007/0047877 teach the creation of two lugs on one and the same optical contact, these two lugs being mounted to pivot relative to one another. These documents do not teach the creation of a first lug on a support carrying one optical contact with a second lug on the contact, the first and second lugs being able to come into contact with one another when the contact is mounted on the support.
There is a need for a system allowing the connection of a plug to an electronic component of a customer equipment carried by a chassis fastened to a socket despite existing tolerances in three dimensions with respect to the position of the casing receiving the component relative to the socket, these connection and disconnection operations preferably having to be simple, fast and possible to carry out blind.